Norton in Neptunia
by Multiverse Inquisitor
Summary: A universe-crossing space ship crosses over to the Hyperdimension Neptunia universe, and crash lands on the planet. Field agents Norton and Lee are sent there to locate the ship, and retrieve a powerful artifact before their enemies do. Little do they know, they attract the attention of the inhabitants, who also take interest in the strangers and their mission...
1. The Arrival

…

"Well," he said. "It's a nice sunny day. Bits of clouds. Almost welcoming." He turned his head side to side, taking note of the trees surrounding both sides of the dirt pathway he stood on. "Something I reckon from this place." Hot air blew from his nose. "Oh boy…"

Norton Bautista held his scanner with an outstretched arm. The device whined and bleeped with curiosity to its new environment. It's artificial tunes sung along with the jovial high pitched chirps of the birds nearby, amidst the soft breeze coolly blowing, and the rustling of trees with their fine dark green leaves.

An electronic DING! went off from the scanner. Putting the device closer to his face to block out some of the sunlight, he watched the little monochrome screen draw out elaborate pixelated diagrams, then pulling strings of numbers that were placed in different categories. Atmospheric pressure, gravity, how many different types of subatomic articles were detected. Everything scrolled down like a computer's command prompt. A message sat at the bottom of the screen. FINALIZING flashed second by second. Then….

MATCH

"Ugh…" He shoved the little tool back in his pocket. "Damn it," he muttered with clenched teeth.

The sound of footsteps came to his left side. A taller, lanky young man wearing the same black uniform and brown straps, and a large Kevlar backpack slung over his shoulder approached him. It was Lee.

He took a deep breathe in through his nose. "Hah, fresh air. Finally!" He unslung the bag and pulled out a little remote. Behind him was a grey, car-sized cylinder that stood on its base. With a push of a button, the cylinder's garage-like door clamped shut. Bright light shone through the cracks and crevices under the capsule. Then, within seconds, the cylinder dropped through the ground, leaving a bright and colorful portal, which closed in on itself. A circular pattern remained on the dry soil, which Lee wiped off with his boot. He looked to Norton. "It was getting pretty stuffy in there. Almost like a coffin."

"I'd rather be in there than here," replied Norton. "Or back at base."

Lee picked up his and a second bag. He gave it to Norton. "So, this is the Neptunia universe?"

"Yup. The scanner matched the data the scouts got." He reached in his bag and pulled out a tablet. "This is the place," he repeated silently. Norton shook his head. A reality were the major gaming industries existed in their own world. Consoles and companies were humanized and had different personalities. They had their own cities, their own cultures. Their own lives. It was a place some would consider a gamer's paradise.

Even Norton thought so. But he knew better. He knew why, of all people, of all other field agents, why he and Lee were chosen to go.

The tablet's screen glowed a dark blue. Immediately, it started collecting its data from the scanner, and making its own calculations. Then, a little message popped up.

SIGNAL FOUND

"There it is," said Lee. "The downed space ship."

"And, hopefully, the artifact inside," added Norton. He unzipped his bag and pulled out an electronic compass. He connected it to the tablet. Among the four arrows that pointed the four main directions, a fifth arrow blinked, pointing north. He looked up. Farther away was a large city with a very tall tower in the middle, surrounded by many smaller buildings. "It seems to be beyond that city over there. "Norton pointed.

"Should be a piece of cake," said Lee. He looked at Norton again. He still had his hard, weary eyes and perpetual frown. "Norton?"

Norton just stared at the city. "We're laying low on this, am I right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Expect that to change." Norton walked back to his bag.

"What do you mean?"

"A lot happens in this world. This place may see cheery at first, but trust me, there are threats here I would like to avoid."

"That's why I signed up with you. You know your stuff."

"If that's the case, then we're both screwed."

Lee rolled his eyes. "I have one question. Do you know anything about these 'goddesses' here? I remember the commander telling us about them during the debriefing."

"Yes, I have an idea of who they are. And I would like to stay away from them, too." Norton dropped the tablet in his bag. "I've dealt with people like them before, and I'm getting sick of it. I'm not in the mood for this crap."

As Norton bent down to zip up his bag, several bushes behind him rustled. Lee turned. Suddenly, a large creature hopped out.

"Um, Norton? Would that be a threat?"

The creature was a big blue blob that resembled a fat droplet with two black beady eyes, a pair of small dog ears, and a simplified version of a puppy's mouth and nose. It had a bushy tail wagging behind it. The thing smiled at them with it's tongue sticking out.

Norton returned the look with a scowl. "That," he said while pulling something out from his bag, "is something you don't want to go near. So…" he pulled out a black ceramic gauntlet. "We either stay away from it, or…" he fitted the gauntlet over his right hand, "we kill it." From the top of the wrist, a cowling popped out. In front of the apparatus were two holes – bores from a blaster. With a firm stance, he pointed the wrist blaster at the blob, with guns at full power.

The blob stared at them for a while. Finally, it swayed its fat body and hopped back behind the tree line. Norton turned to Lee.

"But as you said, we lay low," Norton said. The cowling sunk back into the wrist. "Its funny how cute things are deadly here, too." He held up the electronic compass. "Come on, the signal's this way."

Little did they know, a girl with long purple hair and a white coat was watching them from behind a tree…


	2. The Gray Monster

_*Ka-boom!*_

"Hah!"

_*Glump!*_

"Agh!"

A girl with an oversized blue coat slid backwards with two black blades churning the grassy ground. She shook the dirt of her 'swords' as she straightened herself. Her arms were bent and spread wide out from her body. Her sleeves were covering her hands, both of which were pointing at the opponent opposite of her. She jerked her arms back, her sleeves pushed away until her fists were exposed – fists clenching handle-like hilts of her weapon.

"Katars," Norton murmured. He shifted his binoculars to his left. On the other end of the green field was another one of those blob-like creatures. It was bigger, and colored opaque gunmetal gray.

Once again, the girl bent forward and leaped ahead, so hard she left a cloud of dust behind her. Her feet beat into the ground as her legs made long strides. Then, she jumped higher into the air, raising her right arm. She lunged down towards the monster. Almost as if it had a twinkle in its eye, the blob compressed its body to half its size, and then leaped towards her. The results….

It was watching a bowling ball slam into a fly in midair. Fortunately, the receiving end did not splatter like one. Her back grounded itself into the beaten field. Her whole body bounced barely above the grass. Her right dagger freed itself from her clutches, and landed blade-first beside her. She laid there motionless.

From behind a large rotting log, another girl with peach hair and sweater sprinted towards her companion. She grabbed her wrists. She heaved her away as fast as her legs can take her. Ahead of them, a couple of boulders lay and stood grouped with each other. The creature began to hop slowly behind them. The blue-coated girl raised her right hand. A pistol materialized from pink and purple 'sparkles.'

_*POP! POP! POP!*_

Bullets bounced off the gelatinous form. The monster shook itself, and stood there. The girls slumped themselves behind the rocks.

Norton laid belly-flat on the crest of a ditch. This ditch was close to the battlefield on the southwest area in reference to where the monster was standing. If one were to stand on level ground, like the monster, it couldn't be seen.

Unless someone pokes their head out for too long..

There was a lone tree standing in front of them that seemed broken off from the rest of the forest end – a convenient obstacle to hide and watch the one sided fight. The field itself was pretty bare. Aside from the rotten log, the mossy boulders, and several other trees surrounding the area, there was nothing else that could provide defensive cover. Heck, even the forest borders the far western portion of the field, all the way from the north to the south, the latter of which Norton and Lee exited from and encountered the scuffle.

The monster sat in the middle of the field. It huffed out its body, staring straight at he sky with furrowed eyes and an unchanging smile.

"_GLOO-OOO—OOO!"_

It bounced forcefully in its spot. The ground around it shook with every thump it made. The peach haired girl was bandaging her friend, while the latter was talking to a watch on her wrist – most probably a wrist-worn radio.

Lee shifted over to Norton.

"We gotta help them," he said.

"No. we're not," Norton flatly replied.

"They're getting pummeled!"

"That's_ their_ fight they're losing."

"They might die!"

"Didn't you say we are laying low on this?" Lee opened his mouth, but only grunted. "Besides, it looks like she's calling for backup."

The ground shook evermore harder now. The blob huffed out its body again.

"_GLOO-OOO-OOO!"_

"_GLOO-"_

A bright white beam slammed right into its face. It rolled backwards twice, them jerking its body forward until it was upright.

"Christ," Norton gasped.

A great blast erupted in the southern area of the forest, an area behind the men. Some bright projectile shot into the air. The bright object roared across the sky.

"Whoa," Lee awed.

The shooting star began to dive. It was heading for the monster.

The monster itself compressed its body, then leaped backwards. The light crashed into the space in front of it. A small shockwave rumbled all around.

Norton and Lee peaked over the crest. Lee's eyes widened. An angel stood in front of them. She had long, flowing pink hair, a white body suit and thigh high boots, covered in traces of purple and sky blue patterns. Her wings were pink. They were not actual angel wings, rather, four 'wings' that were almost semicircle in shape and placed similarly to a butterfly. The pink glow made it look cyberpunk.

"Nepgear," one of the girls exclaimed. "She's here!"

"Is that-"

Norton nodded once. He squinted.

The monster and the 'angel' stared at each other for at least a good minute. From the men's point-of-view, the monster kept its puppy-like demeanor. The standoff continued on for several more minutes. The blob hopped a couple of feet towards her, and then did something…odd.

Its skin vibrated in a wavy fashion. It shook itself violently as though to shake off a swarm of bees. From the left side of the monster's head, beside the pointed part of its droplet-shaped body, a thin, round-tipped black antenna grew out. Norton peered through his binoculars to watch the unsightly object stick out of the head. "What the hell…"

With both hands, she clasped her sword and pointed it in front of the blob. The hilt was built like a handle for an assault rifle, the entire structure of the sword in gleaming white armor, a glowing pink blade, and the barrel of a gun perched on top. The barrel began to light up.

_*BZZOOOOM!*_

A bright beam erupted from the gun-sword. The energized bolt slammed the face of the blob. The creature slid backwards a few feet. A deep rut laid between them. The creature tilted its body forward to an upright position. More bolts came afterwards. The creature jerked back and forth but barely budged. The bolts disintegrated upon hitting the creature, creating faint white rings that combed over it. Through his binoculars, Norton could see a hazy blue glow surrounding the blob.

The girl's wings fluttered, then flapped hard behind her. The blade glowed brighter, as she charged and slashed at her foe. The thing budged slowly backwards. Rings kept combing over the blob every time the sword hit it. She drew back.

The blob began to shudder again. On the right side of its head, another metallic object began to open its skin and stick out. It was a black block. The girl seemed to be taken aback by this. From the front side of the block spiraled out a cylinder resembling a wide barrel. Two cylindrical sensors grew out of the top of the block. It had red lights.

_*FA-CHOOOM! FA-CHOOOM!*_

The barrel spat chunks of grey matter at the girl. She swung her sword with both hands and batted the projectiles away. Her sword, however, was being jerked violently every time it hit the shells.

_*Ka-Chunk. FA-CHOOM! FA-CHOOM!*_

New shells came screaming toward her. A crimson glow strafed across the field. One shell dug into the ground behind her. Not more than a second, dirt and hot matter erupted from the ground. The sword caught the second shell, causing it to deform and stick.

*_BANG!*_

The half the sword flew off, with the girl flying several feet back. The sword was half of a blade, and scorched with a red glow. Red hot shrapnel, solid and splatter, stuck to the girl's shoulder. She threw her sword and materialized a new one. A sword resembling a pink lightsaber fell in her clutches. She pointed it at the blob. Arm and forehead bloodied, burns visible. With another flap of her wings, she lunged forward.

*_KIIIIRRRRR….KLACK!*_

_*FA-CHACK!*_

The barrel cracked the air. Shards and tiny shot clouded the space in front of the girl all at once. Her body was thrown back until it was dragged close to the ditch.

"Nepgear!" The girls watched with wide eyes and gaping jaws as they watched their savior shaking and struggling to get up. Glowing red shards covered her body.

"_GLOO-OOO-OOO!"_

Lee peered over the crest. He watched the girl drag herself to the ditch. He watched as her teary blue eyes stare hopelessly at him. Lee looked up and noticed the gray blob staring at both of them.

"Norton," he said. "I think it sees me." Norton didn't respond. "Nort?"

Norton grasped the tablet. A red message was blinking on the screen. He turned to Lee and tilted the screen towards him.

_ANNOVIAN THREAT DETECTED!_

_ANNOVIAN THREAT DETECTED! _

_ANNOVIAN THREAT DETECTED!_

"We've got bigger problems…"


	3. Field Battle

Norton in Neptunia Chapter 3: Field Battle

The blob monster's cannon looked down at the two of them. Lee watched the barrel tilt up and down between the him and the girl. If that gun had a mind of its own, it was probably scanning the two of them. Reading them. Making guesses on what they'll do next. It didn't take Lee long to think of the exact same thing. He watched the barrel slowly tilt towards him. It didn't tilt back at the girl this time.

His left hand was fumbling with his bag's straps. His fingers spazzed as he yanked his own gauntlet out of his bag. Two of the four straps were still locked down. The sensors of the blob's weapon glowed crimson, as if the machine had a bloodlust. The girl in front of him briefly laid eyes on him, and too, twisted to look back at her enemy. There was no way it was going to miss the both of them…

A small silver ball bounced in front of the monster. It bounced again, and then plopped before it. The monster bowed down to look at the little sphere. It wasn't fully silver. Rather, it was slightly orange. The monster took a closer look. It could see little waves emanating from the ball itself, almost as if it was getting hot. Suddenly, the grass under it began to smoke, and then ignite. The blob moved its face away. It was quite an odd –

_BANG!_

The blob rolled violently on its back. It shook its head, or rather, its face which was black as ash. The eyes were shut tight. The unchanging smiley face scrunched it one with anguish. It muttered a low moan.

Norton dug his hand in a pouch and yanked another silver ball. From another pouch at the opposite side of the bag, he pulled a small plastic dropper with a honey-yellow liquid inside. He yanked the dropper's protective cap, then held it upside down on his left hand, and the ball on his right. His head slowly rose until his eyes were over the edge. The monster drunkenly wobbled side to side. It's eyes were still shut, whilst the gun zipped back and forth. The winged girl kept dragging herself closer to the trench. Her arms stretching out as far as she could, as though every stride was one closer to hope.

Lee yanked his gauntlet hard until the end reached his wrist. He attached a cable from his sleeve to the glove, then pressed a black button under the wrist. A small cowling over his hand popped up.

"Lee!" He shot a look at Norton. "I'm going to pull her in," he said. "Cover me." Lee nodded.

The monster's eyelids were still squeezed together, however, it was managing to get a few glimpses with one eye at a time. The gun seemed to recover its bearings.

"One..." said Norton.

The blob began to straighten.

"Two..."

The girl yelped.

The dropper was now hovering over the silver ball. He pinched the sac and the dropper spat. The ball began to glow. The monster blinked rapidly. Its gun stared straight.

"Three!"

He chucked the hot orange at its face. The monster's gun snapped at the orb. *_FA-CHIK! FA-CHIK! FA-CHIK* _The ball erupted. Black smoke filled the air in front of it along with bits and pieces. Norton jumped over the edge. His legs churned like a connecting rod from a piston with his boots kicking up dirt. Lee stood up and clenched his palm.

*_VIP! VIP! VIP! VIP!*_

Thin red lines of plasma beamed out of Lee's gauntlet. The cowling itself lit up a storm as beam after beam was fired from its respective bore. Norton did the same. He ran across the field with his right arm straightened in front of him.

The pain on her abdomen forced her to go belly up. Norton could see her outfit partially ravaged - burns and cuts at the chest and stomach, with small patches of blood on some areas. No human he knew could take a shotgun like that. It was worth a mental note of her resilience, though it was nothing his suit couldn't handle. Luckily, her arms weren't too bad, so he pulled her from behind. The heels of her boots dragged along the ground.

Lee kept focusing fire on the black cloud. The groans of the monster echoed throughout. Short bursts were enough. Though advanced, he didn't want his gauntlet to overheat. He stooped up and down as the monster returned fire. Shots whizzed by him time to time. Judging by the sound of the fire and the incoming shots, the bullets were of considerably bigger size. Though the accuracy wasn't helpful, as the shots kept kicking up dirt.

On the corner of his eye, he saw two people running towards the trench. Turning his head, they were the two girls he and Norton watch fight the monster earlier. The two of them crouched behind the dirt.

"Oh, thank Nep you guys are here," the blue coat girl said.

_Thank Nep? _thought Lee.

"If it weren't for you guys showing up, we would've been toast!" She pulled her sleeve to reveal a small radio on her wrist. She pinched it on two sides and brought it closer to her lips. "Guys, its IF," she said. "I've got Compa with me, and we're being held up by a Dogoo. We have friendlies here, but we need some help!"

"Dogoo," Lee said. "That _thing?"_

"Don't worry, Iffy!" A young feminine voice responded. "I'm on my way!"

A large burst sputtered from the opposite end. Lee ducked. Norton dragged the pink-haired girl with him as he hopped into the trench. He layed her down while holding up her upper body and head. The peach-haired girl came forward and relieved Norton.

"You're a medic," asked Norton.

"Yes," she responded. "Nurse actually, but I can still heal her." She pulled out a syringe from a pouch around her waist. The pouch itself had a red heart on the strap, and a blocky 'C' on the bag. She tore a patch of the fallen girl's clothes.

The blue monster cleared from the smoke and began to pound the ground with every jump. Despite that, the gun remained stable.

"I've never seen a Dogoo like this before," said the girl with the blue coat. "Not one that can grow a gun out of its head!"

The tablet computer that Norton had sat up on the dirt near his bag. _ANNOVIAN TECH DETECTED _ kept blinking, all letters in a bright crimson on its dark screen. Norton peered over the edge again. The gun was joined by two rods, one connecting to the gun itself, while the other literally stuck out like a bone, both rods being connected by a thick swivel joint. Norton squinted. He remembered his days during the recapture of Earth. When he landed back on Canadian soil, besides the enemy war robots, he recalled fighting humanoids. Humanoids that had flesh, but also metal and plastic armor all around, with armaments on various places. The armor and tech looked like it was part of the skin, as if alloy harmonized with cell. On their part, they used to be human.

His eyes widened. _Is this thing...cyborized?_

The Dogoo leaped so high it could have blocked the sun. It plopped behind the trench, though it wasn't very close to the group. When it landed, it was facing away from them. Norton caught sight of its back. Covering the upper half was a partially shiny grey plate. A plate that would've failed quality control if it were from an iron works. Norton knew better. The lines running across, the mismatched blockiness, dots that glowed red, and it being embedded on the skin. It was no plate.

These were micro and nanobots.

"Cyborgimites!" He pointed. "That thing's infected!"

"What," said one of the girls. "Infected?!"

The gun swiveled to meet them. As though it were instinct, Norton threw his arm in front of him and tightened his ceramic-clad fist. Hot beams lit up from the gauntlet. One or two burned at its mark. The barrel flopped, and pointed to the ground. Norton shifted his fist to the right. He clenched his fist again. The cowling erupted.

_*VIP! VIP! VIP! VIP! VIP! VIP! VIP!*_

Red streaks of engineered death fell upon the micro-machines that plagued the creature's back. Parts of them fell, leaving black and red gouges on the once blue gelatinous skin. The Dogoo staggered. It jumped and turned to meet them. It hopped once toward them.

The blue coat girl stood, still trembling. She opened up her arms and two black blades materialized onto her hands. She crossed them together in a defensive stance.

"I can keep him distracted," she said.

Lee and Norton glanced at each other, and then nodded. The rose and took to the girl's side. Both gauntlets clicked.

"Stay away from his back," Norton said. "You don't want any loose nanobots latching to you." He looked at Lee. "We'll keep our distance. Guns at full power."

The Dogoo lunged forward. The girl blocked it with her blades. Both were pushed back. The Dogoo advanced. Lee, who was on the monster's right, fired.

*_VAAUUMM!*_

An even thicker plasma beam ripped through the air. The monster shrieked as it felt the searing fire. Norton bolted off. He ran to its left side and let loose an equally powerful burst. It skinned the Dogoo by a hair. It turned and attempted to ram him. The girl got to it first and shoved it until it was on its side. Lee darted further ahead. He had an oblique view of the monster's right rear.

*_VAAUUMM!*_

The streak burned at the border between body and bots. The Dogoo let out horrific "GLOOO-OOO-OOO!" Norton ran ahead again. He opened fire. His beam singed the remaining untouched infected area. Bits and pieces of metal and plastic melted off. The Dogoo rolled around on the ground. The constant firing ignited some of the grass. Then, the Dogoo was lying upwards. It tried to cover its back, until it saw a girl falling towards itself. Falling with blades drawn.

There was crater left on the ground. No more than 2 meters deep. The girl sighed and fell to her knees. Norton held his gauntlet at his side. We wanted to make sure no strands of nano or micro-bots drifted in the air, let alone the appearance of another Dogoo. Lee looked round. Then, his eyes caught something. He pointed.

"Norton, behind you!"

Norton turned. Above him, he gaped.

It was a goddess.

**To readers/followers,**

**Hello again! It's been a while, eh? First of all, I'd like to apologize for my haitus, and the delay of this chapter. Both school and work took a lot of my time for the past months, forcing me to put the story (and writing in general) on hold. ** **Which brings me to my 2nd point.**

**This story was originally just a writing prompt, and I didn't believe I needed to continue it until I received comments, and readers favoring and following me and the story. I am thankful for the support and the faves, however, I want to make it clear that I CANNOT promise you the completion of this story, nor the consistent quality of writing or style if I were to continue. I wish to start on other stories and projects besides this one. **

**As stated earlier, I am sorry for the long absence, and I appreciate the support you gave me and this story. And for those who are still with me, I am very thankful for your patience. **

**Until next time, my friends.**

**Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have a Happy New Year!**


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